Illegal firearms suspect pleads guilty to one charge

Published: Thursday, May 16, 2013 at 5:42 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, May 16, 2013 at 8:51 p.m.

After all but one of the dozens of guns charges leveled against a Houma man were dropped, he pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to receiving and having an unregistered firearm.

Michael J. Hebert, 62, was arrested in August after police evacuated several buildings at his apartment complex, The Landing at Bayou Cane, as they investigated whether he had bombs.

His sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 22, prosecutors said.

The firearm he admitted was not registered is a Stag Arms Model Stag-15, .223 caliber semi-automatic rifle with a barrel shorter than 16 inches, federal prosecutors said.

After federal officials dropped their charges months ago, the Terrebonne District Attorney's Office dropped the remaining charges against him: 19 counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and 10 counts of unlawful possession of fraudulent documents, records show.

The fraudulent documents, which Terrebonne Sheriff Jerry Larpenter said were counterfeit credentials and badges of federal agencies, were marked “for display purposes only,” his attorney Robert Pastor has said.

Hebert's complex was evacuated while investigators inspected potential bombs, which they later announced were not real, the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office said at the time.

Those were “paperweights,” Pastor said.

Staff Writer Katie Urbaszewski can be reached at 448-7617 or katie.urbaszewski@dailycomet.com.

<p>After all but one of the dozens of guns charges leveled against a Houma man were dropped, he pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to receiving and having an unregistered firearm.</p><p>Michael J. Hebert, 62, was arrested in August after police evacuated several buildings at his apartment complex, The Landing at Bayou Cane, as they investigated whether he had bombs.</p><p>His sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 22, prosecutors said.</p><p>The firearm he admitted was not registered is a Stag Arms Model Stag-15, .223 caliber semi-automatic rifle with a barrel shorter than 16 inches, federal prosecutors said. </p><p>After federal officials dropped their charges months ago, the Terrebonne District Attorney's Office dropped the remaining charges against him: 19 counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and 10 counts of unlawful possession of fraudulent documents, records show.</p><p>The fraudulent documents, which Terrebonne Sheriff Jerry Larpenter said were counterfeit credentials and badges of federal agencies, were marked “for display purposes only,” his attorney Robert Pastor has said.</p><p>Hebert's complex was evacuated while investigators inspected potential bombs, which they later announced were not real, the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office said at the time.</p><p>Those were “paperweights,” Pastor said.</p><p>Staff Writer Katie Urbaszewski can be reached at 448-7617 or katie.urbaszewski@dailycomet.com.</p>